This was my first book by Tessa Afshar, Harvest of Rubies. I found her talent with Historical/Biblical Fiction to be quite fascinating! This style of book i uses Biblical characters that we know, and expounds on their lives using as much Historical information as possible, while adding in probably family members and situations that are not in our Bibles. However, these family members, towns and situations are extremly plausible!
Harvest of Rubies is about a woman named Sarah. She is the cousin to Nehemiah. Yeah, never easy being in a family with a Prophet! Sarah hasn't come into her own, she is rather backwards in some ways. She learns to read, though it is forbidden, and we are all glad when her Father is pleased instead of possibly disowning her. Turns out she is reasonably gifted in these areas, like hidden talents. Expanding her studies to Persian, Sarah is now able to pretty much be a Scribe. (WOW for a woman!) This lands Sarah in a job in the Palace! Extremely different for a woman in this certain situation.
God has plans for Sarah, even when she isn't seeing them. She is about to have doors open in front of her, and things she will be able to do! And she has a husband/pending husband too.... and the ability to figure out mysteries, and so much more!
All in all a very interesting book!
Carol
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
TESSA AFSHAR was voted "New Author of the Year" by the Family Fiction sponsored Reader's Choice Award 2011 for her novel Pearl in the Sand. She was born in Iran, and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. She moved to England where she survived boarding school for girls and fell in love with Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, before moving to the United States permanently. Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life forever. Tessa holds an MDiv from Yale University where she served as co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School. She has spent the last thirteen years in full-time Christian work.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The prophet Nehemiah’s cousin can speak several languages, keep complex accounts, write on tablets of clay, and solve mysteries. Her accomplishments catapult her into the center of the Persian court – working long hours, rubbing elbows with royalty, and becoming the queen’s favorite scribe.
Not bad for a woman living in a man’s world: so why does Sarah feel like a failure?
A devastating past has left Sarah with two conclusions: that God does not love her, and that her achievements are the measure of her worth – a measure she can never quite live up to.
Darius Pasargadae is accustomed to having his way. A wealthy and admired aristocrat, the last thing he expects is a wife who scorns him.
Can two such different people help one another overcome the idols that bind them?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Harvest of Rubies, go HERE.
The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802405584
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